Public Health Infrastructure and Systems Improvement

ASTHO works with states and territories, funders, and other national partners to align resources and improve public health infrastructure. This collaborative effort means there is a mix of frameworks, tools, and evolving needs to consider—and these needs do not always align with how health agencies are organized. ASTHO is committed to recognizing this complexity and offering cross-cutting resources to help.

To improve the state and territorial public health agencies’ performance, ASTHO works to improve public health infrastructure by:

• Advancing participation in national accreditation.
• Facilitating performance management and quality improvement.
• Increasing systems assessments.
• Increasing competencies in financial and grant management.
• Enabling states and territories to strengthen their ability to deliver the essential public health services.

ASTHO also conducts a census of state and territorial public health agencies through the ASTHO Profile, which is fielded every two years. This survey aims to define the scope of state and territorial public health services, identify variations in practice among state and territorial public health agencies, and contribute to the development of best practices in governmental public health. For more information on the survey and its findings, visit the ASTHO Profile website.